Immortal debut their first new track since the 2015 exit of frontman Abbath. This latest song is called “Northern Chaos Gods” and is also the title track to their new effort, which will be out in stores on July 06th. Guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta has since taken over the vocal duties in the group.

Norwegian black metal legends Immortal has posted a message on their official website, which states that the group has finished recording their new album. This will be their first release without former frontman Abbath, who parted company with the group in 2015 and has since formed his own, eponymous band. The message on the group's website reads as follows:

"We have put a massive amount of energy into this, and wanted to deliver our absolutely best. It has been a pleasure to finish the studio process and most of all being stoked about the final result. Peter Tägtgren has done an outstanding job in producing and mixing it. We now look forward to have it released, and are excited to share our 9th full length with you all."

The album will be released by Nuclear Blast Records in 2018 (release date will follow) and will contain the following tracks:

The people behind Sock Puppet Parody have returned with this year’s Immortal Christmas' rendition called “The Banishin", which is a parody of Dimmu Borgir’s “The Serpentine Offering”. The clip features of Philip H. Anselmo's (Pantera, Down, Superjoint, Scour) voice as Krampus after the band fails to catch Santa’s attention.

Immortal will start recording a new album at Abyss Studio this coming January 2017. Demonaz and Horgh comment:

"The songs have been ready for some time, but we wanted to record it at the right place and time. We will once again work with Peter Tägtgren at Abyss Studio who produced our four last albums. The band will enter the studio during wintertime to have the right atmosphere.

"We look forward to record and present the new album to the Immortal hordes sometime in 2017. The tracks that will appear on the album are: 'Northern Chaos Gods', 'Into Battle Ride', 'Gates To Blashyrkh', 'Blacker Of Worlds', 'Where Mountains Rise', 'Grim And Dark', 'Called To Ice', and 'Ravendark.'" More...

Immortal has completed the writing of a ninth full-length studio album. The band issued this statement online:

"This will be our darkest and coldest album in a long time: pure Blashyrkh metal the way our fans know it, with massive majestic riffs, grim frostbitten vocals and tales from our mighty realm. Fast and furious tracks, epic tracks and longer playtime than any of our previous albums. Founding Immortal member, lyricist and guitarist Demonaz is now also handling the vocals.

"The massive fan support has been very inspiring and we will not let down the fans. The last year we have completed all the new songs and look forward to record our most passionate album in a long time. The songwriting process has been awesome and we are soon ready to start the recordings.

"In a time when true and origin Black Metal is nearly dead, the band is in ultimate spirit. After the last years incidents it was time to go back to the roots to what this band is really about musically, and also to take the integrity of the band back to where it belongs. Cold, grim uncompromising Blashyrkh metal with a true feeling is what we deliver. More...

After the Immortal trademark case was closed by Patentstyret (Norway’s Patent Office) in November 2015, Demonaz and Horgh can finally share their side of the story for the first time. They comment:

"The conflict was not about anyone leaving the band as Abbath claimed. It was all about his personal problems. He had cancelled rehearsals and ruined the band’s progress for a very long time. We were forced to confront him about it.

"Abbath recently told Australian website TheMusic.com.au that we wanted things solely on our own timetable and that we claimed he needed rehab.

"The band had to reschedule rehearsals all the time because of him. Even then, he did not show up. He told the band, friends, and family that he needed to go to rehab again. He had got help from a clinic before. We offered to wait for him to recover this time also. Sadly he changed his decision.

"Instead of trying to solve his problems, he went behind our back and secretly applied for a trademark ownership of the bands logo and name. It was hard to believe that his problems had led him to such a point. More...

Abbath just released footage of another track recorded live earlier this month, this time for Immortal cover "Nebular Ravens Winter." Check it out below. If you missed it, the previous video in the series for "Warrior" is still online right here.

A new 7" single is also coming from Abbath via Season of Mist this December 11, 2015. The 7" features a new track, titled "Count the Dead," as well as a cover of the Judas Priest track "Riding on the Wind." More...

Abbath (ex-Immortal) premieres another new music video from the band's recent in-studio session which was filmed for a cover of I‘s track "Warriors". Abbath will release a new 7" single via Season of Mist on December 11, 2015. The 7" features the new track "Count the Dead", as well as a cover of the Judas Priest track "Riding on the Wind". The band has aslo scheduled a launch show for its upcoming debut full-length album in London on January 23, 2016.

Norway’s unstoppable black metal force has been busy working on new material, with members Demonaz and Horgh having gone through legal processes this past year to retain the band's name and logo. Nuclear Blast had this to say:

"In October 2014, ex-Immortal singer/guitarist Abbath (Olve Eikemo) filed an trademark application for registration of the brand Immortal to Patentstyret (Norwegian Industrial Property Office) without informing the other band members. The band's core members Horgh and Demonaz were forced to seek legal help to counter this. The trademark application from Eikemo was not approved and was denied registered on July 21st, 2015. Eikemo has left Immortal to start his new band." More...

In an exclusive statement to Metal Hammer at this location, Immortal founder Abbath issued a statement about the future of the band, a new album with a different lineup under the moniker "Abbath" and an impending tour.

The statement reads: "Immortal’s frontman and founding member has been writing and rehearsing fervently, with a deluge of new material ready to be recorded; unable to come to an agreement in order move forward with the other members of the band, he has formed a new line up. Whilst grateful and respectful for the contributions of Demonaz, Horgh and Apollyon, the time is now right for Abbath to present his art to the world and continue to evolve the legacy.

"The next two years will see the release of a new album alongside select live performances – the first of these to be announced is The Forum in London on Friday 18th September. This will be Abbath’s first time back on stage in the UK since triumphantly headlining Bloodstock Festival in 2011 alongside W.A.S.P and Motörhead. Following this, February 2016 will see a return to playing on home soil as the headliner for the prestigious Blastfest in Bergen – on top of a 100% Norwegian line up.

"Abbath is a continued weaving of this artist’s creative thread: new songs have been honed, ready to sit alongside classic Immortal material and rarely – if ever – played gems that will be unearthed from an epic catalogue spanning over two decades.

"Using his own name is a natural step for Abbath, having become iconic and synonymous with the band that he co-founded in 1990. That’s 25 years of powering face first into the northern wind; a milestone for any band, and rather than exploit it by dragging Immortal’s name through the mud, Abbath will instead carry his own on his back.

"The name of Immortal, for the time being, will rest; the essence, the power, the music – and Abbath – will not."

More information on the new album and confirmed dates of the tour are expected soon. More...

Nancy Pagan Animation, the creators of "He-Man Sings Mercyful Fate" video, have returned with another metal-related cartoon "Sons of Northern Darkness", which is apparently going to be a regular series. As you can probably guess from the title, the show is about the black metal veterans Immortal.

The specific premise is as follows: "In the fall of 1995, Black Metal band, Immortal, set out to make a string of music videos for their upcoming album. With little to no-budget, they walked into the woods outside their hometown of Bergen, Norway, never to be seen again. This is their story."

According to Dagbladet, Abbath's application to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office has been stopped by a lawyer representing Demonaz and drummer Horgh, who want the Immortal trademark to be shared by all three members.

In his latest letter to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office, Abbath says that he thought Demonaz and Horgh left Immortal earlier this year after they moved out of the band's rehearsal room and stopped paying their share of the rent expenses.

"This summer Abbath received amessage from Demonaz and Horgh indicating that they wanted to take a longer break from Immortal after a conflict occurred between Abbath and the other 2 bandmembers," writes Eikemo in his letter to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office.

"The band rents a rehearsal space where costs were being shared between the 3 bandmembers. Demonaz and Horgh did not want to pay their share of the rent since the band, in their opinion, was not active. Abbath, as Immortal's chief songwriter, was dependent on the rehearsal space and was willing to cover the rental costs himself. The other 2 members then moved out of the premises and stopped paying their share of the rent. Abbath perceived this move as them pulling out of the band."

The letter also argues that Demonaz has not played guitar since he suffered an injury to his arm in 1997, and that Horgh 's role in the band has been limited to playing drums. In addition, Abbath claims that, as Immortal's composer and frontman, he is virtually synonymous with the band and that, as a professional musician, he is dependent on revenue generated by Immortal and therefore cannot simply take a break. More...

The prestigious box set will consist of four 10“ vinyl discs including an album artwork poster. The "All Shall Fall" 10“ vinyl box set will be limited to only 3 x 333 copies (black, white, silver) and will be released July 5th, 2013. More...

This year's Summer Breeze festival will be taking place from August 16th - 18th, with full details available at the festival's website here. The organizers of Summer Breeze have now issued the following announcement about confirming new bands:

"Since the release of their amazing breakthrough album 'Inwards', Dew-Scented have been at the forefront of European thrash metal. Since then, the cool bunch led by frontman Leif Jensen have been producing fantastic albums full of unstoppable riff power and overwhelming intensity at nicely regular intervals, cementing the band's excellent reputation time and again. In 2012, Dew-Scented aim at kick-starting their career with an entirely new line-up – with the exception of band boss Leif – and the fantastic new album 'Icarus', and are gearing up to shatter the Summer Breeze Open Air into small pieces. We are stoked to welcome the indestructible machine called Dew-Scented at our festival once more. Get thrashed!

"When Agrypnie played the Summer Breeze festival in 2008 for the first and only time so far, they were booked as consolation for all those who were mourning the recent disbanding of Nocte Obducta. Four years, one studio album and one EP later, the Hessians have made a career for themselves, having now reached the same level as the aforementioned group. Their new studio album is still being recorded as we speak, but their last EP 'Asche' was already an announcement for big things to come in the realm of post black metal. Expressive, multi-faceted, melancholic, dynamic – all these attributes fit Agrypnie like a glove and are underlined by the fact that their songs don't ever become predictable or interchangable. One of the most exciting bands our scene has to offer nowadays."

The organizers of the upcoming Summer Breeze 2012 festival have issued the following update about confirming new acts:

"Italy is not exactly a hotbed for dark doom metal. Fortunately enough, there are always exceptions to confirm the rule. With the three albums they have released so far, The Foreshadowing have provided a master class in gloom and doom. Hailing from Rome, the band prove that it is indeed possible to write great atmospheric songs without falling into excessive pathos and kitsch. Especially singer Marco Benevento's clear, ear-piercing vocals take the group's material to a level which is only populated by bands such as Katatonia, My Dying Bride, early Anathema and even Opeth. Don't miss this black pearl of darkness! You will hardly experience anything bigger, darker and more epic at Summer Breeze 2012!

"Breakdowns aren't exactly the most innovative element in metal nowadays... However, if you use them with such conviction and vehemence as Bleed From Within, even the most athletically challenged of metalheads should soon mutate into pit fighter number one. The UK band have two albums out which should appeal to fans of As I Lay Dying, Bring Me The Horizon and Parkway Drive, while at times Bleed From Within are even more melodic than the aforementioned bands, only to dive into a brutal breakdown the very next second. All fans of metalcore and deathcore should highlight this band in their personal running order, as this is the perfect stuff for all of them!"

The festival is set to take place from August 16th - 18th, will full details available at this location. The currently announced bill is as follows: More...

The 2012 edition of the Summer Breeze festival will be taking place from August 16th - 18th, with full details available here. The organizers of the festival have now announced the following bands being added to the bill: